Minor Fictional Characters in the American Empire Trilogy
This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in the American Empire trilogy, a sub-series of the Southern Victory series. These characters are identified, but play at best a peripheral role in the series. Most were simply mentioned or had a very brief, unimportant role that did not impact the plot, and never appeared again. Antiochus (Blood and Iron) Antiochus was a black Confederate veteran of the Great War. He had a Purple Heart from a flesh wound he received in Virginia. When he visited Erasmus' fish stand January 1921, he talked with Scipio about life as a citizen, and how he feared that his one vote would do nothing to counteract the popularity of the Freedom Party in elections.Blood and Iron, pgs. 295-297, HC. Baird (B&I) Confederate States Congressman Baird was a Radical Liberal from Chihuahua. In 1919, Baird spoke at a public square in Richmond. He urged his listeners to remember that the CSA and other Entente nations were no longer the top dogs; instead, the USA and the Central Powers were. Therefore, the CSA should court the USA's goodwill.Blood and Iron, pgs. 109-110, HC. Listeners Reggie Bartlett and Bill Foster found this sentiment to be just short of treasonous. So did a group of passing Freedom Party members, who stormed the crowd with clubs and bottles. At this point Bartlett decided to take Baird's side against the Freedomites, and jumped into the fray. Foster attempted weakly to play peacemaker, picking up the fallen Bartlett. Neither man was injured. Baird, from his podium, declared the matter an outrage. While Bartlett disagreed with much of what Baird said, he realized it was the better of the two offered options.Ibid., pgs. 110-112. Albert Bauer (B&I-''The Center Cannot Hold) '''Albert Bauer' was a particularly radical member of the Socialist Party organization in Toledo, Ohio.Blood and Iron, pgs. 43-44. He worked with Chester Martin on Upton Sinclair's presidential campaign in 1920.Ibid., pgs. 2441-244. Martin had the impression that Bauer was a thoroughly practical man who might appreciate a bar of shaving soap as a Christmas gift more than anything else.Ibid., pg. 367. He expressed some skepticism of the increased speculation in the stock market in the early 1920s.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 109, HC. Doctor Baumgartner (TCCH) Doctor Baumgartner (b. c. 1895) was a doctor at Remembrance Hospital in Washington, DC. He had a huge scar on his neck from the Great War, acknowledged by a Purple Heart. On January 5, 1933, he was flatly telling Nellie Jacobs that she could not bend the rules and give cigarettes to her husband, patient Hal Jacobs. While she was protesting that "coffin nails" would merely ease the pain of an already dying man, an ambulance arrived with emergency signals flashing, and delivered Baumgartner a new patient: Calvin Coolidge, the President-elect of the United States, who had collapsed in his bathroom that morning. Baumgartner pronounced Coolidge dead on arrival, having likely been dead since the moment of his collapse. When a guard expressed fear that Coolidge's death would cause the election's unpopular runner-up, incumbent Hosea Blackford, to have a second term, Baumgartner explained the American electoral system. Since electoral votes had been cast on January 4 for Coolidge as President and Herbert Hoover as Vice President, Hoover would succeed Blackford on February 1.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 393-395, HC. Frank Best (B&I) Frank Best was foreman in a galoshes factory in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1910s and 1920s.Blood and Iron, pg. 81 HC. He was known for sexually harassing his female employees, including Sylvia Enos.See, e.g., Ibid., pgs. 173-177. Bricker (B&I) Professor Bricker taught law at Northwestern University in Chicago in 1918. Jonathan Moss and Fred Sandburg were among his pupils. Bricker was a strikingly handsome man with an impressive way of speaking. He was also a repeatedly victorious defense attorney; Moss suspected that his winning mannerisms had something to do with that.Blood and Iron, p. 74, HC. Caleb Briggs (B&I-TCCH) Caleb Briggs was a dentist who practiced in Birmingham, Alabama. He served in the Confederate Army during the Great War and was badly injured in a poison gas attack. In the 1920s, he became Chairman of the Birmingham Freedom Party, replacing Barney Stevens who was elected to Congress.Blood and Iron, pg. 384. Briggs led a group of Freedom Party men (Jefferson Pinkard among them) to protest a speech by President Wade Hampton V, and witnessed the president's assassination by Grady Calkins. Upon a threat from the Alabama militia that they would be massacred, Briggs ordered the Freedom men to retreat.Ibid., pgs. 514-518. He did his best to keep the Freedom Party moving forward in the bleak period after the assassination.Ibid., pgs. 580-582. Abraham Cantorowicz (TCCH) Abraham Cantorowicz was a Democratic politician who ran against incumbent Socialist Congresswoman Flora Blackford in New York City's Lower East Side in 1926. While not a token candidate, Cantorowicz had little hope of defeating the massively popular Blackford in her home district, and conceded after falling 3000 votes out of 16,000 behind Blackford on Election Night. During his concession call to Blackford's headquarters, he promised that one day Democratic efforts to win the district would bear fruit. He also questioned Flora on whether she planned to run for re-election if her husband, Vice President Hosea Blackford, became his party's Presidential candidate in 1928.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 159-161. May Cavendish (B&I) May Cavendish was a woman from Boston, Massachusetts.Blood and Iron, pg. 82. She was a coworker of Sylvia Enos in a galoshes factory in the 1910s and 20s.Ibid., generally. She introduced Sylvia to cigarettes.Ibid., pg. 84. Chris Clogston (The Victorious Opposition) Chris Clogston was a quilt vendor in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a ninth-generation Irish-American. She did some work for Sylvia Enos.The Victorious Opposition, pgs. 333-336. Literary comment This character is named for a science fiction fan, Christi Clogston, who won a "Tuckerization" auction at the 2001 Millenium PhilCon (WorldCon). The auction benefited SFWA's (Science Fiction Writer's Association) Emergency Medical Fund, for writers without medical insurance. The details about the character being a quilt vendor and her heritage come from the fan's personal information, though the real life Chris Clogston is a quilter, she is not a quilt vendor. Ted Culligan (B&I-TCCH) Ted Culligan was a son of a family of farmers living outside of Rosenfeld, Manitoba, Canada.Blood and Iron, pgs. 361-363. He was engaged to Julia McGregor in the early 1920s,Ibid., pg. 481. until her terrorist father Arthur was killed trying to assassinate US General George Armstrong Custer. Then he broke off the engagement.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 10. David (Moss' cousin) (B&I) David was Jonathan Moss' cousin from Denver. He worked in a bank and was one of the least interesting men Moss knew.Blood and Iron, pgs. 175-176, HC. Henri Dimier (TCCH) Henri Dimier (b. c. 1888) was an officer of the French Navy. In 1925, Dimier showed Sam Carsten around Brest. Dimier took Carsten to a marine museum and a cathedral, and discussed the Action Francaise party. Carsten and Dimier watched the Action ralliers turn into a riotous mob, but avoided being caught in their path.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 103-104, HC. Virgil Donaldson (TCCH) Virgil Donaldson was a colonel in the United States Army and a member of the General Staff during the Sinclair Administration. In the late 1920s, he listened to a passionate plea from Colonel Irving Morrell for action against the Confederate States after the CS sent troops into Mexico. Donaldson attempted to dissuade Morrell from filing a report on the matter, citing the lack of political will on the Administration's part to act. Donaldson's words proved prophetic. Not only did the U.S. refuse to chastise the C.S., the government exiled the troublesome Morrell to British Columbia.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 91-95. Sheldon Fleischmann (TCCH) Sheldon Fleischmann was Max Fleischmann's son. He took over his father's butcher's shop after Max died. Like Max, Sheldon was a Democrat. But he continued his father's tradition of sending cold cuts up to Socialist Party headquarters on Election Day night.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 161. Gallwitz (B&I) An American soldier named Gallwitz served as Military Governor George Armstrong Custer's chauffeur in Winnipeg in 1920. When a bomb went off (narrowly missing Custer who had stepped outside due to broken dentures), Custer ordered Gallwitz to drive to the scene of the disaster, to see what aide they could render.Blood and Iron, pgs. 241-244, HC. Garcia (TCCH) Lieutenant Commander Garcia was an officer of Costa Rica's navy. In late 1929 or early 1930, he met with the crew of the USS Remembrance off the coast of Puerto Limón. He told skipper Martin van der Waal and Lt. Sam Carsten that he hoped Costa Rica and the United States would always remain at peace. Carsten hoped the nearby Confederate merchants, whom he suspected of being spies, were listening.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 284-285, HC. Carsten found Garcia's gaudy, gold-braid-festooned uniform to be hilarious when worn by a relatively low ranked officer. He wondered what their admirals wore.Ibid. Jeremiah Harmon (B&I-TCCH) Jeremiah Harmon (b. c. 1872) was a druggist in Richmond, Virginia. In 1920, Reggie Bartlett began working for him, and found him to be much more reasonable than his previous employers. Harmon shared Bartlett's dislike for the Freedom Party, but regarded them as just a flash in the pan, who would never amount to anything.Blood and Iron, pgs. 203-205, 244-248 HC. Harmon had not served in the Great War, maintaining his shop in Richmond all the while.Ibid., pgs. 308-311, HC. In 1921, Harmon voted for Wade Hampton V as President. Although Hampton was as dull as watching paint dry, Harmon believed he was the only man who could beat Jake Featherston.Ibid., pgs. 358-360, HC. One day, Bartlett left his shift at Harmon's and managed to get himself killed by Freedomites in an argument about their propaganda posters. Davey Hatton (TVO-''Return Engagement) '''Davey Hatton' (d. 1941) was the cook onboard the Sweet Sue when George Enos Jr. joined the crew. He was a round, red faced man with a barbed wit.The Victorious Opposition, pgs. 363-365, 451. Just after the Second Great War began, he was killed in front of George's eyes when a British naval fighter off [[Ark Royal (Southern Victory)|HMS Ark Royal]] machine gunned the vessel.Return Engagement, pgs. 85-89. Paul Heusinger (B&I) Paul Heusinger was a Canadian businessman who built an office building on a lot in Berlin, Ontario. In the case of Smith vs. Heusinger, Judge Mahlon Pitney ruled that the land belonged to John Smith, leaving Heusinger quite angry.Blood and Iron, pgs. 370-372, HC. Gregory Hill (B&I) Gregory Hill was an American soldier killed during the Great War, leaving behind a widow named Agnes.Blood and Iron, p. 390, HC. Nathan Hirskowitz (TCCH) Petty Officer Nathan Hirskowitz was a gunner's mate on the USS O'Brien when Ensign Sam Carsten was assigned to the ship. Carsten commanded the forward most gun with Hirskowitz as his second in command.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 13-14, HC. When the O'Brien made a courtesy call on the port of Brest in France, Hirskowitz surprised Carsten by knowing French. Carsten commented that he would stick with Hirskowitz when they got leave since he knew the lingo but Hirskowitz had to remind the "mustang" Carsten he was now an officer and couldn't fraternize with ratings like himself.Ibid., pgs. 100-101, HC. Virgil Joyner (TCCH-TVO) Virgil Joyner (d. 1939) was a member of the Freedom Party; he was one of the first people to join, registering around the same time as Jake Featherston and Ferdinand Koenig.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 28. As he was a staunch Freedom man, he was given the privilege and the duty of being Featherston's personal driver; he also had the privilege enjoyed by few others to address the Freedom Party ruler as the "Sarge."Ibid. While driving in a presidential motorcade through the streets of Richmond in December 1939, Joyner was killed by disgruntled Freedom Party Stalwarts, who were all part of Willy Knight's coup attempt.The Victorious Opposition, pgs. 319-321. Featherston mourned Joyner's death. Jean-Henri Jusserand (TVO) Jean-Henri Jusserand (b. c. 1900s) was a colonel in the French Army in 1930s. Despite his youth, Jusserand had benefitted from the rule of Action Francaise and King Charles XI. He became France's military attaché in the Confederate States in 1936.The Victorious Opposition, pg. 436. He met Anne Colleton when she was sent to France by Confederate President Jake Featherston to act as an unofficial ambassador in 1934. He traveled to the C.S. when she returned home in July 1936, where Anne introduced Jusserand to Featherston.Ibid., pgs. 171-176. At the time, Jusserand wanted some assurance that the C.S. could be counted on to engage the U.S. should France find itself at war with Germany. At the time, Featherston candidly admitted that the C.S. was in no position to do so.Ibid., pgs. 174-175. However, by early 1941, Kaiser Wilhelm II was on his deathbed, and with war in Europe seemingly certain, Colleton met with Jusserand and unofficially informed him that the C.S. would support France in the event of war, which Jusserand relayed to his government.Ibid. pgs. 436-437. Marcus Krauskopf (B&I) Marcus Krauskopf, an amiable nonentity, was the Democratic Party's Congressional candidate for the Lower East Side district in 1918. As the Socialist incumbent Flora Hamburger was considered unbeatable, the Democrats did not make any serious effort to unseat her.Blood and Iron, pgs. 95-98, HC. Ainsworth Layne (B&I) Ainsworth Layne was the Radical Liberal candidate for President of the Confederate States in 1921.Blood and Iron, pg. 442. While he was defeated by Whig candidate Wade Hampton V, the final polling suggested that his loss was at least in part because of the candidacy of the Freedom Party's Jake FeatherstonIbid., pg. 533. Layne was earnest in his desire to reconcile with both the United States and with the colored residents of the C.S., unpopular positions immediately after the Great War.Ibid., pg. 446. During the campaign, Featherston made much of the fact that Layne was Harvard-educated, and during one speech, accused Layne of wanting to take the C.S. back into the United States.Ibid., pg. 442. Like the Whigs, Layne and the Radical Liberals were subject to violence by the Freedom Party. During a speech in Charleston, South Carolina, Layne's supporters were set upon by Freedom Party Stalwarts led by Roger Kimball.Ibid., pgs. 446-450. Shots were fired, and Kimball had to prevent a Stalwart from shooting Layne.Ibid. Max Litvinoff (TVO-RE) Max Litvinoff (b. c. 1912) was a captain in the United States Army. He was an expert in poison gas and especially in nerve agents. In 1941, he was attached to General Abner Dowling's command to help Dowling incorporate poison gas into the defense against the anticipated Confederate invasion of Ohio. Dowling was disturbed by Litvinoff's amoral enthusiasm for the terrible abilities of his weapon.Return Engagement, pgs. 105-109. Literary Comment Max Litvinoff is not an analog of the Soviet historical figure Maxim Litvinov. The shared name appears to be a joke on Harry Turtledove's part. Ernie London (B&I) Ernie London was the first treasurer of the Freedom Party. In August, 1918, London, at the behest of party chairman Anthony Dresser, moved to remove Jake Featherston as head of propaganda for the Freedom Party. Party vice chairman Bert McWilliams seconded the motion. The motion was set for a floor vote, and Dresser, McWilliams, and London gave speeches outlining their reasons for wanting Featherston out. Instead, Featherston outlined his understanding of propaganda and his value as a propagandist, turning the party to his side. Party secretary Ferdinand Koenig moved that Dresser step down and that Featherston replace him as chairman of the party, and Featherston won the subsequent vote.Blood and Iron, pgs. 106-110, pb. Samuel Longstreet (TCCH) Samuel Longstreet was a Whig Senator from Virginia. The grandson of former general and President James Longstreet, Samuel himself was the Whig nominee for the presidency in 1933. He and his running-mate Hugo Black were defeated by the Freedom Party's Jake Featherston, making Longstreet the first Whig candidate to lose a Presidential election in Confederate history.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 466-469. Louise (Irish whore) (B&I) Louise was a plump blonde whore who serviced Sam Carsten on the USS Remembrance's visit to Dublin in 1919. When he prematurely ejaculated, he paid for another go round. When an alarm sounded, he prematurely ejaculated again, much to Louise's disappointment. The Remembrance was being summoned northward to suppress a pro-British uprising in Belfast.Blood and Iron, pgs. 161-162, HC. Marsden (TCCH) Lieutenant Commander Marsden was the captain of the USS O'Brien when the ship made a port of call at Cork, Ireland. He had the crew assemble on deck to announce he was granting them leave. He seemed to encourage them to have a good time, which perturbed Ensign Sam Carsten. Then Marsden stiffened and went as hard as armor plate to tell the sailors that if they brawled, he would throw the book at them.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 15-16, HC. Maximiliano (TCCH) Maximiliano was a dog owned by Hipolito Rodriguez at his farm near Baroyeca in the Confederate State of Sonora in the 1930s. The dog was ugly, vicious and stupid, just like the Mexican Emperor Maximilian III, hence the name. Rodriguez sardonically thought to himself that had he named the dog that on the other side of the border, within Imperial domains, he would have been executed for sedition. Walter McKenna (Breakthroughs-B&I) Walter McKenna (D) was Vice President of the United States during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (1913-1921), which included the Great War. McKenna was an "amiable non-entity who was almost as fat as Congressman Taft."Blood and Iron, pg. 397. In 1920, Roosevelt and McKenna's bid for a third term was defeated by the Socialist ticket of Upton Sinclair and Hosea Blackford. Literary comment This character's name is give at one point as Kennan. See Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work#Inconsistencies in Southern Victory. Bert McWilliams (B&I) Bert McWilliams was the first vice chairman of the Freedom Party. In August 1918, McWilliams, at the behest of party chairman Anthony Dresser, moved to remove Jake Featherston as head of propaganda for the Freedom Party. Party treasurer Ernie London seconded the motion. The motion was set for a floor vote, and Dresser, McWilliams, and London gave speeches outlining their reasons for wanting Featherston out. Instead, Featherston outlined his understanding of propaganda and his value as a propagandist, turning the party to his side. Party secretary Ferdinand Koenig moved that Dresser step down and that Featherston replace him as chairman of the party, and Featherston won the subsequent vote.Blood and Iron, pgs. 106-110, pb. John Oglethorpe (B-TCCH) John Oglethorpe (b. ca 1860) owned and operated a dinner in Augusta, Georgia, for many years. He worked as the cook while employing several blacks as waiters. Shortly after the Great War, Oglethorpe hired Scipio (who was using the name "Xerxes") as a waiter after Oglethorpe's long-time employee, Aurelius, confirmed he knew the job by observing him during a trial period. Unfortunately, Oglethorpe had to let Scipio go in 1919 after rising unemployment had an adverse effect on his business, and Oglethorpe could no longer afford two waiters.Blood and Iron, pg. 58-62. In 1933, a desperate Scipio sought out Oglethorpe (whom Scipio still held in high regard) for possible employment. Unfortunately, Oglethorpe had nothing.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 422-425. Oglethorpe despised the Freedom Party, referring to them as "yahoos".Ibid., pg. 425. At the outset of the Second Great War, Oglethorpe's poor health caused him to shut down his business.Return Engagement, pgs. 350. Cicero Pittman (TVO-''In at the Death) '''Cicero Pittman' became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1935 following the death of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.The Victorious Opposition, pg. 224. He was appointed by President Herbert Hoover and, like Holmes, was a conservative Democrat. He administered the Oath of Office to President Al Smith in 1937Ibid. and 1941, to Charles W. La Follette on Smith's death in 1942''Return Engagement, pgs. 622-623., and to Thomas Dewey in 1945. Literary Comment The 1945 Chief Justice is not named in the text, but since no change in office is noted, it stands to reason that it's still Pittman. Nephi Pratt (TVO) '''Nephi Pratt' represented Utah in the United States House of Representatives during the brief period (1937-1941) between the once-rebellious state's readmission to the Union and the start of yet another rebellion. He was once ejected from the floor of the House of Representatives by Speaker Clarence Cannon for arguing with Congressman Barry Goldwater of New Mexico out of order. Pratt left the room with dignity. Goldwater, in contrast, scuffled with the men who removed him, even landing a good blow on one. Pratt was the grandson of Orson Pratt, one of six Mormon leaders executed during the Second Mexican War, a fact he reminded the House of prior to his ejection.The Victorious Opposition, pgs. 357-60. Oliver Roland (B&I) Oliver Roland was the first captain of the USS Remembrance. In 1920, he hosted the Lord Mayor of Dublin and an Irish Admiral aboard the Remembrance to officially commemorate the independence of the Republic of Ireland. Almost immediately after, Roland led the ship against a British-backed uprising in Belfast. Roland was a swarthy man of French descent.Blood and Iron, pg. 200. Note: for the similarly named minor fictional character in ''The Two Georges, see'' Roland Oliver. Carlos Ruiz (TCCH-RE) Carlos Ruiz was a farmer from Baroyeca, Sonora. He was a lifelong friend of Hipolito Rodriguez.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 117-118, generally. In 1943, his son was wounded while serving in the Confederate States Army during the Second Great War.The Grapple, pgs. 64. Sanderson (TVO) Congressman Sanderson (D-Mass.) represented Boston. In 1934, local activist Joseph P. Kennedy was campaigning for him.The Victorious Opposition, p. 29, HC. Hiram Schacht (B&I) Hiram Schacht (b. c. 1855) was a very old man who owned a stable in Des Moines in 1922. Cincinnatus Driver delivered barrels of oats to him. Mr. Schacht had expected the stable to outlive him, yet he was nearing his Biblical threescore and ten, and the horse was becoming less and less common as a transportation mode as the automobile gained popularity. Mr. Schacht felt that motorcars had no soul, and smelled terrible too. He predicted that someday automobiles would be obsolete, and everyone would own a flying machine instead.Blood and Iron, pgs. 406-407, HC. Literary comment This person is not related to Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht. Maggie Simpkins (B&I) Margaret "Maggie" Simpkins (d. 1921) was a flame of pharmacy clerk Reggie Bartlett before the Great War. She eventually married C.S. Navy officer Tom Brearley.Blood and Iron, p. 245, HC. Maggie and her husband were murdered together in an arson fire in 1921, after he blew the whistle on the war crimes of the CSS Bonefish.Ibid., p. 311. Enid Sinclair (B&I) Enid Sinclair was the wife of US President Upton Sinclair. She served as the First Lady of the United States from 1921 through 1929. She was a vivacious red-head. Flora Hamburger met Enid at Sinclair's inauguration in 1921. The First Lady wore an off-shoulder green velvet gown that Hamburger was convinced would cause multiple heart attacks in her own congressional district.Blood and Iron, pg. 400. Jane Smith (B&I) Jane Smith (d. between 1914 and 1917) was the wife of John Smith of Berlin, Ontario. She was killed during the Great War by an American aerial strafing run.Blood and Iron, p. 336, HC. John Smith (B&I) John Smith (b. c. 1872), who had the same name as his father and grandfather, was a Canadian landowner from Berlin, Ontario. He was declared medically unfit for service during the Great War. In 1921, Smith hired Attorney Jonathan Moss to help him recover a seized property for which the U.S. Army did not properly compensate him during the War. Moss took his case, even though the property was the very lot which contained Moss' office.Blood and Iron, pgs. 333-336, HC. In the case of Smith vs. Heusinger, Judge Mahlon Pitney ruled in Smith's favor.Ibid., pgs. 370-37. Colonel Sorenson (TCCH) Colonel Sorenson was the U.S. military governor of Salt Lake City immediately after the Great War until 1924., when he was relieved from this duty by General Hunter Liggett, Chief of the General Staff. While Liggett viewed Sorenson as an able officer, he was too unbending to adapt to President Upton Sinclair's plan to bring Utah back into the country. He was succeeded by Colonel Abner Dowling.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 3, HC. Captain Stein (TVO-RE) Captain Stein (d. 1941) commanded the USS Remembrance from 1928 when she was put back into service, through the Pacific WarThe Victorious Opposition, pgs. 57-58, generally. until her sinking off Midway by the Japanese during the Second Great War.Return Engagement, pgs. 518-521. An officer of the old school, Stein deliberately went down with his ship.Ibid., pg. 537. Barney Stevens (B&I) Barney Stevens was the chairman of the Birmingham chapter of the Freedom Party. In 1919, a few days after leading a band of Freedomites to break up a Negro rights rally, he was elected to Congress.Blood and Iron, pgs. 163-166, HC. Although a zealous devotee of the Freedomite cause, he was a dreadfully boring speaker.Ibid., pgs. 133-134. After Stevens' departure for Richmond, Caleb Briggs succeeded him as Birmingham chairman.Ibid., p. 306. Edgar Stow (TCCH) Edgar Stow was the South Carolina state assemblyman for Anne Colleton's home district. He was a Great War veteran with only two fingers on his left hand. In 1925, Colleton visited Stow's office in Columbia to discuss financial matters. When he called her "ma'am" in a way that he might have said to his grandma, Colleton knew her powers of seduction were waning with age.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 98-99, HC. Torvald Sveinssen (B&I) Torvald Sveinssen was a Socialist politician from Dakota. In 1921, he entered Congress in the seat formerly held by Hosea Blackford, who had left to become Vice President. Blackford trusted Sveinssen's capabilities.Blood and Iron, p. 368, HC. Eyechart Szczerbiakowicz (TVO-RE) "Eyechart" Szczerbiakowicz (d. 1941) was a sailor in damage control on the USS Remembrance. He was missing and presumed drowned when the ship was sunk by the Japanese.Return Engagement, pg. 537. He received his nickname because his surname looked like something you would find at an optometrist’s and was considered unpronounceable by anyone not of the Polish culture.The Victorious Opposition, pg. 399. Literary Comment For those who are curious, the correct pronunciation is something like "Shchair-be-OCK-o-vich," although the Polish sounds represented by consonant clusters often have no equivalents in English, so phonetic sticklers have to settle for approximations. Unnamed Governor of Massachusetts (TCCH) In January 1933, the Governor of Massachusetts spoke at the State House in a memorial service for his predecessor, Calvin Coolidge. While his remarks did not differ greatly from those just spoken by President-elect Herbert Hoover, they were more accessible and comforting to the audience for being delivered in local dialect, in contrast to Hoover's unfamiliar Iowan accent. Unlike "Hoobert Heever," the event's master of ceremonies managed to pronounce the Governor's name without trouble.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 396-398, HC. Unnamed Irish Admiral (B&I) The Adirmal of the nascent Irish Navy attended a ceremony in Dublin to welcome the visiting USS Remembrance in 1919. He appeared to be studying her as if wishing he had a dozen such ships in his fleet.Blood and Iron, p. 159, HC. Unnamed Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (TCCH) In January 1933, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts spoke at the State House in a memorial service for former Governor (and would-have-been President) Calvin Coolidge. As his remarks simply repeated the points just made by President-elect Herbert Hoover and the State Governor, the audience quickly lost interest and the crowd began to shrink.The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 398, HC. Unnamed Lord Mayor of Dublin (B&I) The Lord Mayor hosted the visiting USS Remembrance crew in Dublin in 1919. In a voice which sounded more British than Irish, the Mayor praised the USA for its compassionate aide to Ireland during the Great War. Sailor Sam Carsten, listening to the speech, knew that the USA had aided Ireland as a way to strike against the British, rather than from any act of compassion.Blood and Iron, pgs. 159-160, HC. Whiskers (cat) (TVO) Whiskers was George Enos Jr.'s family cat. His sons tried to torment the cat occasionally, but were driven off by his long claws.The Victorious Opposition, p. 451, HC. Sarah Wyckoff (B&I) Sarah Wyckoff was a widow from Boston, Massachusetts. She was a co-worker of Sylvia Enos in a galoshes factory in the 1910s and 20s.Blood and Iron, pgs. 82-83. She shared Sylvia's contempt for Frank Best. She admitted at one point to wishing she could put a certain part of Best's anatomy in a size-two shoe-mold.Ibid. References *American Empire *American Empire